British Comedy

I personally love watching a good, satirical British comedy. They have so many references in the actual show that you really have to think about. Shows like The Mighty Boosh are at the forefront of british comedies; they are similar to a present day Monty Python. I like to think the British, during their conquest of the world, gained a sense of humor. I just can't get enough of movies such as The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, provide such a comedic relief. So in conclusion, my love of Europe translates to all facets entertainment.

closer to the finished product, everyone feel free to leave comments

Ethan Parrish

Mrs. Aiken

English 1101

September 22, 2009


Books are Knowledge, and Knowledge is Power



Knowledge is powerful, to get knowledge someone either has to be taught or they have to read. Many great thinkers of past times were self-educated and they became this way by reading the works of the great thinkers of the period before theirs. If someone puts forth the effort to read then they are giving themselves a leg up in life. Reading can change how someone views life as a whole, their view could become more pessimistic about people if they read Timeline by Michael Crichton or they could view the world as a happy place if they read The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. Books are the single most powerful and influential items to ever be written and I blame them for preparing me for life better than someone who doesn’t read.
I prefer the classic literature that was written in time periods where serious learning was the whole purpose behind writing and the authors wanted to share their vast amounts of knowledge. For instance The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien and The Hunchback of Notre Dame are two of my favorite pieces of literature. They were written for different reasons, but they still confer the fact that their authors were very well read and wanted to share this knowledge with the population. These books fascinate me beyond anything else in the world. I got lost for hours in Middle Earth with Frodo and Gandalf. This book made me want to be in the story with them, fighting Trolls and Goblins on the quest to the Misty Mountain and the antagonist, Smaug. Books to me are an escape, not from something bad, but from the everyday grind. On the weekdays I seem more like a robot than a living, breathing, and educated human. The Hobbit made me so excited and optimistic about everything; this proves the fact that a good book can change your outlook and mood. I don’t speak for everyone by any means, all I’m sure of is that I couldn’t function if I couldn’t or wasn’t allowed to read.
Hugo’s greatest work The Hunchback of Notre Dame for example shows all the personal relationships in medieval France from all parts of the spectrum; politically, religiously, and socially. This novel first appealed to me because it was a classic and it was based in an almost medieval France, I love all stories based on that period of time. When I started reading I had to force myself through several pages of description, which I appreciate now, that I thought was unnecessary. Once I got into the storyline I was mesmerized by the imagery that Hugo used and how he wove his story in a seemingly nonchalant way. The effortless way in which he spun his tale made me believe that I could do anything based on the fact that he was writing this during a period of exile in the English Channel. This made me think, if he could write an amazing literary work under those conditions, then I shouldn’t worry about anything I plan to do in the future. Victor Hugo’s novel made me mellow out and just go with the flow. My last statement to an outsider looking in would look like utter rubbish; however to me it is anything but.
In the modern era these new authors don't inspire me on the same intellectual level, but they inspire my imagination. For instance J.K. Rowling's books in the Harry Potter series incited me to have day dreams imagining that the world was full of magic and then I understood that the struggle for good and evil in the novel is the actual struggle in today’s world. Christopher Paolini in his book Eragon caused me to think in wonderment, what if I had a dragon? These new writings are so focused on piquing your imagination that they cause you to be in the story. This is a euphoric feeling, but there isn’t any longevity to the situation. I enjoy a shorter novel from time to time because I don’t have to think deeply into the novel and it is meant for pure leisurely enjoyment.
Reading a good book changes my life every time. If the book is sad or happy then this transfers to me and my mood then changes. Books are one of my favorite past times, not just reading the book, but understanding the authors intentions and his or her thought process. Some disillusioned people would have someone think that money is power or strength of arms; I find this limiting, because this is a true statement, however it doesn’t seem like anyone realizes that the leaders of the armies and the people with the money are usually very intelligent and this intelligence comes from reading. I feel as though I can make a difference and make an impact; I wouldn’t feel so powerfully if I hadn’t been able to read and come to my own conclusions on many different topics. I know that I could be one of the brilliant thinkers, artisans, or just someone who makes an impact because of my perusing of many different genres of literature with many different subject matters. Anyone who really knows me can tell you that I wouldn’t be where I am without the knowledge I have gleaned from my readings; reading is me and I am reading. In Charles Dickens novel a Tale of Two Cities the quote "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" doesn't work for me because when I’m reading it is always the best of times.

As of now...

I'm working on this example paper, which is a little tricky, limiting myself to minimal examples is kinda tough. My paper is about how books have changed my life and I love reading so much that picking out my favorites to use as examples is proving to be a block.
I'm just thankful that I don't have practice today for soccer because it alwasy puts me in a foul mood. The reason being that the coach plays favorites and the majority of us who have started our whole lives are left out for nonsensical reasons. I'm not bragging, but I don't think I'm a person that people just look at and don't like. It's my last year, so no worries.
Back to the paper....

Example essay...I think?

Knowledge is powerful, to get knowledge you either have to be taught or you read. Many great thinkers of past times were self-educated and they became this way by reading the works of the great thinkers of the period before theirs. If you put forth the effort to read then you are giving yourself a leg up in life. Reading can change how you view life as a whole, your view could become more pessimistic about people if you read a Tom Clancy novel such as Executive Orders or Catch 22 by Joseph Heller or you could view the world as a happy place if you read the Nicholas Sparks novel The Notebook. Books are the single most powerful and influential piece of literature to ever be written.

I prefer the classic literature that was written in time periods where serious learning was the whole purpose behind writing and the authors wanted to share their vast amounts of knowledge. For instance 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne or The Hunchback of Notre Dame. They were written for different reasons, but they still convey the fact that their authors were very well read and wanted to share this knowledge with the population. These books fascinate me beyond anything else in the world. I got lost for hours in the Nautilus with Captain Nemo and his crew of loners. Hugo for example shows all the personal relationships in medieval France from all parts of the spectrum; politically, religiously, and socially. There isn't much unnecessary fluff in their works which is the point, because their ideas that so inspire me were constantly flowing and they didn't require lengthy fillers.

In the modern era these new authors don't inspire me on the same intellectual level, but they inspire my imagination. For instance J.K. Rowling's Books that involve Harry Potter, such as The Prisoner of Azkaban, incited me to have day dreams imagining that the world was full of magic and then I understood that the struggle for good and evil in the novel is the actual struggle in today's world. Christopher Paolini in his book Eragon caused me to think in wonderment, what if I had a dragon? These new writings are so focused on piquing your imagination that they cause you to be in the story.

Reading a good book changes my life every time. If the book is sad or happy then this transfers to me and my mood then changes. Books are one of my favorite past times, not just reading the book, but understanding the authors intentions and his or her thought process. In Charles Dickens novel a Tale of Two Cities the quote "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" doesn't work for me because when I'm reading it is always the best of times.

Essay Writing, my trials and tribulations

My first essay in my english class was slightly dificult to write. The topic was the best to me for that particular essay, it's just I couldn't put enough information into the paper. I couldn't find reliable facts to back up my thoughts and opinions. This was hard to me because I am a factual person by nature and I feel that I need to justify my thoughts by having supporting facts. I believe not having these limited my writing so it is not the best I have written by any means.

When I read the essays that others had written I really didnt get anything out of them. This is becasue the essays that I read weren't really essays at all, but just paragraphs. It was the difference between a Roald Dahl book and a Victor Hugo novel. Here I am trying to write an essay on a topic with complete formulation of thoughts and anecdotes, when I read these paragraphs that are a bunch of adjectives describing a very simple topic. I'm not saying these weren't really good descriptions, I'm just saying they didn't correlate to my writing at all.

weekend overview...kinda

This weekend was quite busy which is the norm for me at this time during the year. My travel soccer team has a game every weekend in a different city that is usually two hours away minimum. Then my teachers deem it necessary to load me with projects because according to some educational analyst we, we being students, learn better with hands on activities. I loath being grouped into categories. Anyways, I have to balance my time between soccer, school, friends, and my girlfriend. We dont have a seven day school week so dont give us homework that occupies are only days off as students. I dont mind homework in the classes where I learn, but I dont need a four page essay in a marketing class where I have to create a super hero and explain how to sell his memorobelia. But back to soccer I already go back and forth to practice twice a week and now they tell me we have a mandatory meeting to discuss money. This has no relevance to me as I dont fund myself, my parents are in control of that portion of my life, so why am I required to go? This sounds like a bunch of whining about a particularly bad weekend, but I got to do what I love play soccer and hang out with my girlfriend, I had a great weekend.

Transcripts=GPA....apparently not

I always thought that when your school handed you your transcripts they were supposed to help you by giving you helpful new information about where you stood; my life has been a lie. Today I was given my transcript that had no GPA on it and basically told me everything I already knew. Repetition is the key to many sports, but in school you are supposed to learn new lessons and broaden your horizons. I am thoroughly disinterested in being told about myself, whom I believe I know very well. High schools need to have a learning curve or get out of the business.

IPods or CD players?

I grew up in the nineties listening to compact disks. Everywhere you went you would see people with big bulky music players. We all thought it was cool, and it was back then. Then the ipod hit like a marketing bomb. Everyone wanted this sleek new gadget. Slowly at first and gradually speeding up was the decline of compact discs. It quickly went from cool to very uncool to be seen with any music player that wasn’t an ipod. I didn’t give into the trend until years later, nut now I wouldn’t leave home without the device that single-handedly cornered the market on music devises.
When I was growing up I had one of those very bulky CD players that were so unwieldy to carry. Compounded with this was the fact that you had to carry multiple CD’s around. The original compact disc players were mostly grey in color with a tiny display screen and oversized buttons. Many of the functions of the player were too confusing to be used efficiently and if the player was shifted ever so slightly the disc would skip and really perturb you. Many of the people that you would see with a CD player were teenagers or young adults that fell in love with the grunge era of music.
The original ipod was introduced around the turn of the century. They allowed you to store all of your music in one place. They were smaller than a CD player, but they were very far from the ipod I have now. They were about an inch thick, all white, with a touch wheel that was used to navigate the programs. These devices were by no means perfect, many would refuse to work for no other reason than the sun was shining and it was a Thursday. The newer editions that have been released have fixed many of these bugs in the system that irked many music lovers. I have fallen hard for the shiny, sleek, touch screen ipod that I own and would not want to go on without it as I’m sure many others of my generation would not want to do. The people who use ipods vary much more than CD users; school kids to CEOs, farmers to lawyers, the list goes on and on.
I believe that the ipod is much better than the compact disc player because of its functions and design. The ipod allowed music lovers to store their entire music collection in one convenient place. They pioneered touch technology which has led to many electronic devices incorporating this technology. The ipod is the greatest technological advancement in music devices of our time.